March 28, 2011. For the relatively new travel agency called
New Gate Tours, organizing pilgrimages is not just a
matter of connecting people to places and plugging them in
with a tour guide: it is a form of evangelization,
a chance to help people meet Christ in a deeper
way on their own road to Damascus— or Jerusalem or
Rome or Antioch or Krakow, for that matter.

A growing service

New
Gate Tours began several years ago as the New Gate
to Peace Foundation, which the Legionaries of Christ created in
2004 after the Holy Father entrusted them with the management
of the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center. The New Gate
to Peace Foundation’s main aim was to bring pilgrims to
the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center, and also to offer
support to the Palestinian Christians living in Israel.

As the
Foundation began bringing a steady stream of pilgrims from Mexico,
the United States, and Spain, the travel agency New Gate
Tours was created in order to offer a complete pilgrimage
package for a trip to the Holy Land. In addition
to lodging at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center, it
offered itineraries for various lengths of stays, complete with lodging
in Galilee for several nights, tour guides, bus transportation, meals,
admission fees, and a priest to celebrate the sacraments on
site.

As it grew, New Gate Tours also expanded its list
of destinations from Israel to Turkey, Egypt, Spain, Greece, Portugal,
France, Jordan, and Poland. During the Year of St. Paul,

The Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center

for example, the agency offered trips to Turkey and Greece
to retrace St. Paul’s steps on his various journeys. For
the upcoming beatification of John Paul II, New Gate Tours
is also presenting different pilgrimage packages spanning Rome, Poland, and—if
desired—the Holy Land.

So far, over 10,000 people have gone
on pilgrimages with the agency, mainly from Mexico, but also
from Chile, Brazil, Spain, and the United States. As word
of mouth travels, Americans are seeking out the travel agency
in greater numbers. At the same time, New Gate Tours
is beginning a more concerted promotion effort in the States,
with local promoters in San Antonio, Atlanta, San Diego, and
St. Louis.

Facilitating an experience of God

“New Gate Tours offers
a new way of strengthening faith,” said Carlos Lankenau, who
is one of the agency’s managers. “A pilgrimage with New
Gate Tours is the perfect mixture of faith, art, and
culture, and it’s an opportunity to draw closer to God.”

He observed that people draw closer to the sacraments on
the pilgrimages, which gives them a much stronger experience of
God.

Regarding the Holy Land pilgrimage, he noted that seeing
and experiencing the “fifth gospel” of Jesus´ land “really transforms
the hearts of many of our pilgrims. Now we really
can say that ‘seeing is believing,’” he said.

Past pilgrims have
also noted that this is not just a cultural trip
or an excursion. It is a journey in prayer, a
spiritual experience.

“What made the trip an interior spiritual journey was

The upcoming pilgrimage for John Paul II's beatification will include time in Krakow, Poland.

that every step, every meditation, every scene contributed an important
piece,” said one pilgrim. “At the end of my trip,
I have the certainty that my soul walked more miles
than my suitcase. I have drawn closer to God and
the Church in a way I ever thought possible.”

At the
same time, the services provided by New Gate Tours did
not go unnoticed.

“I want to thank you and congratulate you
and the company,” wrote another pilgrim, a priest. “You were
at our service and gave us even more than what
was agreed upon. Everything you gave us was so great—the
hotels, the meals, the trips, the guides (Salim was a
master)…”

“We felt treated like kings,” wrote another pilgrim. “Thank you.”

***

New Gate Tours is currently expanding its promotion efforts
in the States. If you are interested in being trained
to be a local promotion coordinator, please contact Carlos Lankenau
at infousa@newgatetours.com.